Eurosurveillance - Volume 31, Issue 17, 30 April 2026

Hospital-acquired pneumonia is a common nosocomial infection, frequently caused by multidrug-resistant organisms. However, no systematic surveillance data exist on respiratory bacteria in Switzerland.

This laboratory-based surveillance study analysed temporal trends in the incidence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of nosocomial respiratory bacteria in Swiss hospitals.

A retrospective analysis using data from the Swiss Centre for Antibiotic Resistance from 2007 to 2024 focused on meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GCR) Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp. Data were compared across the periods 2007–2015 and 2016–2024. Temporal trends in pathogen incidence and AMR were assessed using Poisson regression models.

We included 46,374 respiratory isolates. For respiratory bacteria incidence, difficult to treat Enterobacterales such as Serratia spp. increased significantly in the later vs the earlier period, as reflected by a higher adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR: 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.23, p < 0.001). Regarding important pathogen-specific AMR, MRSA (aIRR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.66–0.91, p = 0.002) and 3GCR Enterobacterales (aIRR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.75–0.87, p < 0.001) incidence decreased in the later period. In contrast, carbapenem resistance in Enterobacterales (aIRR: 3.27, 95% CI: 2.43–4.46, p < 0.001), P. aeruginosa (aIRR: 2.68, 95% CI: 2.33–3.10, p < 0.001) and Acinetobacter spp. (aIRR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.15–2.95, p = 0.01) was higher in the later period.

While MRSA and 3GCR Enterobacterales incidence declined, carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria incidence increased, underscoring the need for strengthened surveillance.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a neuroinvasive disease in humans, is endemic in north-east Italy and nationally notifiable since 2017. Domestic TBE incidence, although low, has increased in recent years while TBE vaccination coverage remains < 10%.

We aimed to estimate the burden of TBE virus (TBEV) infections in north-east Italy (Triveneto) in 2017–2024.

We estimated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UI) using the Burden of Communicable Diseases in Europe software. Input data included TBE cases notified in 2017–2024 with residence and/or infection or exposure in Triveneto (autonomous provinces (AP) of Trento and Bolzano and regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia) and correction factors for TBE underdiagnosis and TBEV infection under-ascertainment.

In 2017–2024, 295 TBE cases were notified in Triveneto. The mean annual burden of TBEV infections was estimated at 0.58 (95% UI: 0.55–0.62) DALYs per 100,000 population. Estimates were highest in 2022 (1.07; 95% UI: 1.00–1.14 DALYs/100,000). The areas with the highest burden were Belluno province (4.17; 95% UI: 3.88–4.46 DALYs/100,000/year) and the AP of Trento (2.84; 95% UI: 2.65–3.05 DALYs/100,000/year). Males accounted for 67.0% of DALYs. All age groups experienced on average ≤ 1 DALYs per 100,000 population per year.

The burden of TBEV infections in north-east Italy is relatively low and with an uneven geographical distribution. Increasing TBE vaccination coverage across age groups, prioritising elevated impact areas, may reduce the burden of TBEV infections in north-east Italy and maintain TBE as a low-burden disease.